A late evening update brought out by Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Conor Gallagher is one step closer to joining Atletico Madrid.
Their interest has been rumoured for a while, but their initial bid was so low that it felt unlikely that Chelsea would be able to come to terms with them. But their ambitious €20m offer to open proceedings was clearly a bluff – Romano’s update has them now offering close to what Chelsea wanted originally.
The Spanish side apparently have offered around €40m now, according to what Romano reported last night.
He then quoted his own Tweet today to add that the decision is now entirely down to Gallagher. It seems that whatever Chelsea want, Atletico are now offering. Now it’s down to the midfielder to agree to the move – but that’s no guarantee. he may prefer to stay, fight for his place in the team once again, play for his boyhood club – and then have the chance to leave on a free next year if he still isn’t tied down.
🔴⚪️⤵️ It’s (still) up to Conor Gallagher, no decision has been made yet. https://t.co/PGXfDU51Cb
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 31, 2024
A new angle for Chelsea
If this does happen it signals a massive change for Chelsea. They’ll be losing a central piece of last year’s team. Romeo Lavia and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall will be the immediate candidates to replace his considerable minutes in the team, but they are very different players to Gallagher’s unique style. Using them as his replacements shows just how dramatic the style turnaround this season and beyond can be expected to be.
We will really miss that energy, leadership and aggression in the middle. When things were turning against us, Conor could be counted on to stand up. We hope we’ll be able to say the same thing about the players playing in his stead in the future, while he tears up the Champions League for Atletico.
